Bringing the War Home

Bringing the War Home

Pointing imaginary guns and roughing up "Iraqi civilians", antiwar veterans brought the realities of the Iraq debacle to Manhattan, in a Memorial Day protest that turned Times Square into a combat zone.

By

and

June 1, 2007

Pointing imaginary guns and roughing up “Iraqi civilians”, a group of
antiwar veterans brought the realities of the Iraq debacle to Manhattan,
in a Memorial Day protest that briefly turned the streets of the city
into a combat zone. In “Operation First Casualty,” a
half-dozen members of Iraq Veterans
Against the War employed the tactics of street theater to stage
mini-dramas in Times Square, Union Square and the World Trade Center
site, simulating sniper fire and staging mock arrests of fellow
protesters who portrayed Iraqis. The group plans to take Operation First
Casualty to the streets of Chicago June 17.

Astra Taylor Astra Taylor is the director of the documentary films Zizek! and Examined Life. She has written for Monthly Review, Adbusters, Salon, The Baffler, Bomb Magazine, n+1 and other outlets. She is the co-editor of the book Occupy!: Scenes from Occupied America (Verso).

Laura Hanna
Laura Hanna is a filmmaker who, with Astra Taylor, produces short-form documentaries for The Nation. Their New York-based production company, Hidden Driver, specializes in feature-length and short-form films focusing on intellectual, cultural and political issues
A California native, she has worked in all stages of production, as an editor, producer, sound recordist, post-production sound editor, mixer and designer. She is currently directing the documentary feature Megapolis.